Because None of it Was Ever Worth the Risk
by Wishes on a Broken Stereo
Summary: Glee Project (S1) AU one-shot in which our favorite Irishman is a high school senior with muddling feelings for his nerdy best friend that just so happens to be male as well. Cameron/Damian; Dameron. Written for a prompt based on the song, "The Only Exception" by Paramore and rated for safety. Enjoy.


Damian couldn't even begin to fathom how he'd gotten himself into this predicament. It wasn't as if he'd asked to start finding one of his closest friends just a tad attractive. It had just sort of... hit him like a brick, and now was the time to suffer from the monstrous headache that came with it. What would his other friends think? What would his parents think? Could he even handle the stress of it all?

Welcome to the tangled vines that are becoming Damian McGinty's love life.

* * *

It had all started one October afternoon. The wind had a chilling nip to it at this point, quite pleasant compared to the hot and muggy days of summer. The uniform green of the leaves had begun turning to a rainbow of reds, oranges, and browns. School had been back in session for a good month, and Damian - along with many others - were counting down the days until they were tossing their caps in the air.

At the time, the Irish teen had been sitting at one of the many round tables outside the cafeteria that students could eat their lunch at instead. Of course, he wasn't alone; Damian would never have such a thing. He shared the table with his closest friends, a diverse group, if he had anything to say about it.

"So wait a second, Sam... You mean those didn't hurt when you had them done?" An girl with waves of fiery red hair asked, bewildered as she pointed to the many piercings along the ear of a boy with wolfish eyes and long dreadlocks, who merely shrugged.

"At first they did, but you almost don't notice them after a while," he replied nonchalantly as he looked over, his eyes gleaming with playfulness. "Why, are you wanting some, too, Marissa?"

"I don't think I could do something that out there with my body," another girl, all bright blue eyes, shiny black hair, and full pink lips, interjected. "It just seems a bit... much."

A sandy blonde boy wearing big glasses chuckled softly as he looked up from a piece of paper he'd been focused on for most of the lunch period. "A bit much for you? Lindsay, you live for 'a bit much', don't you?"

"Oh, shut up, Cameron," Lindsay replied with a faux glare at the boy, effectively ending his poking fun at her.

And this was how every lunch went, the discussions ranging from completely serious to the most absurd ever. One wouldn't think that these five would get along so well, but it was all thanks to the school's glee club that their friendship was even possible. Think about it: the drama queen with the Broadway voice; the pierced and tattooed Christian rocker; the multicultural, artsy girl; the nerdy hipster, complete with horn-rimmed glasses; then... Damian.

There wasn't anything special about Damian, or at least, that's what he thought. Take away his voice, and all that'd be left would be a somewhat pretty face and an old soul. He pushed away the brief moment of insecurity before looking at Cameron. "Cam, be nice. Even Lindsay has her limits," he teased with a grin.

And that's when it hit him. That moment that Cameron's dark blue eyes met his, something struck him deep inside. It was faint, but there nonetheless, like a single guitar string being strummed. How fitting, since the taller boy was a guitar player. His grin only grew bigger as he realized just how ironic that was.

Cameron's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he saw that toothy smile that brightened the other's entire face. "Damo? What are you smiling about?" He'd only looked up from his paper to make another teasing jibe. It wasn't anything to be happy about.

The brunette's grin faded as quickly as it had come as he suddenly seemed to find the last of his greasy slice of pizza more interesting. "Nothing." He battled back the rush of heat threatening to creep up his neck. When could he go back to class again?

* * *

That had been about seven months ago. May was slowly creeping upon everyone, and with May came all of the traditions that came with drawing that final year of high school to a close. Yearbook signings, cap & gown fittings, prom... That last one was setting the entire school abuzz, even the freshmen that could only dream of going to such an event.

Damian was extremely excited about the prospect of attending his very first prom. He'd watched many a television show or movie where proms were always this big ordeal: decorations, formal outfits, dinners before the dance... Perhaps he shouldn't have been as excited as he was, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You only get one senior prom, after all.

His only problem was trying to decide who to take.

Lindsay had actually been the first girl he'd ever known to approach a boy and actually ask him to any kind of dance. However, that boy had actually been Damian. It was only to be expected that something like that should happen; the two were naturally quite close, as they were in the same circle of friends. Maybe it was just Damian, but there was just something missing...

On the other hand... he and Cameron had only grown even closer since they shared not only physics, but glee club together during the second semester. Plus, Damian's piqued interest had only grown to something muddled and confusing. Cameron was still his best friend, without a doubt, but it felt as if there was... more to it.

After all, best friends didn't normally get butterflies around each other... right?

This was something completely new to the blue-eyed boy. The only person that he'd ever felt anything remotely similar for was probably Jenna when he was a wee freshman, before he'd transferred from Ireland. Even she wasn't so confusing, since it was normal to feel that way around a girl, especially a pretty one like Jenna. And if one thing was true, it was that Cameron wasn't a pretty girl.

Oh, God. Damian liked Cameron, didn't he? He had a crush on his male best friend. No wonder all of the usual things they did made him feel so much more nervous than usual. The hugs, the warm smiles, even just a simple "Hey, Damo" sent his heart fluttering away in his chest. There was no way out of it at this point, was there?

Maybe that realization was the reason behind Damian's turning down Lindsay's offer and concocting the crazy idea of asking Cameron to go to prom with him. He could take the easy way out and just tell him they could go stag together, but the Irishman wanted to take a risk. What better risk to take than asking your best friend to prom as your date?

He had to get it just right; the blonde didn't deserve anything less. Damian showed up to school at least an hour early one Friday morning, three weeks before the actual dance, with a garbage bag in tow. After being let in with the excuse that he was carrying a class project in the bag, he padded quietly down the hallway where Cameron's locker was located.

Damian was more than glad that Cameron didn't wake up this early; if he got distracted by a good morning text message, he'd never get to finish before the bell for first period rang. It was generally silent as the brunette worked - pluck, glue, stick, pluck, glue, stick, and so on - until it was almost time for students to start arriving. He quickly disposed of the empty garbage bag and texted Cameron to tell him to meet him at the blonde's locker when he arrived.

* * *

"Damo? What's going on? Is everything okay?" Concern was etched into Cameron's features as he approached the shorter male, the dull click of his wing-tip oxfords growing louder with each step. Should he be worried about those wide, nervous eyes staring back at him?

"O'course! I'm fine, Cam, no need t' worry," he answered, chipper as usual, but sounding like he had more to say.

"But...?" the nerd ventured, hoping this wasn't another one of those times where Damian hid how he was really feeling. It was near-impossible to help him if he wasn't willing to bend a little. "Is there something I need to know?"

"Well, I, um... I, uh," Damian stuttered, trying to string together a coherent sentence in his head. "Just... just open yer locker, 'nd then I'll explain, okay?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow as he watched the other boy carefully for a few moments before turning to his locker, deft fingers making quick work of the combination lock. When the squeak of the opening door met his ears, he hadn't expected to see what he was faced with.

Every inch of the inside of his locker was covered in what looked like Valentine's Day cards. At least, there was enough pink and red to seem that way. Lots of hearts, too... "Damian, where did all of this come from?" His tone was mostly one of bewilderment, but there was just enough a hint of humbleness to it to show that he was flattered by the mysterious gesture.

Damian chuckled sheepishly before swallowing. "Well, Cam, I... you know that I've always sort of kept a comfortable distance from people, right?"

The lanky boy nodded in agreement as he surveyed his newly-vandalized locker. Recently, Damian had been growing a bit distant from him, not returning the hugs as eagerly as he used to. Cameron pushed his glasses up his nose as he noticed one gray envelope lying among the eyesore the other colors were starting to become. He picked it up and looked between it and Damian. "Why do you ask?"

"S'just that, well, I'd kinda always sworn to myself I'd be content with loneliness, after Jenna and I parted ways. I thought it was just because I couldn't find it in m'self to really like anyone, but that sort of changed."

Cameron's eyebrows shot up in curiosity. Not only was this mysterious envelope in his hands just begging to be opened, but Damian actually having a crush on somebody? A cordial grin played at his lips. "Really? Congrats, man! Who is it?"

"Patience, young grasshopper," Damian joked, despite his nerves cracking the easy confidence he usually showed. "You look like you're dying t' open that; go ahead."

The blonde glanced back down at the gray envelope - it even had his name written across the front in some sort of fancy script - before slowly prying open the flap, careful not to tear it. In the envelope was a single piece of paper.

Damian's heart was racing a mile a minute at this point; any time now, he'd put everything together, and Cameron would no longer want to associate with him. Or maybe everything would work out, and he'd get his wish. He waited patiently as Cameron pulled out the paper and scanned it over.

There were two things written on that sheet of paper in Cameron's hands. In big letters -_ Prom?_ In smaller letters, almost unnoticeable - _Damo._


End file.
